Spiral binder applying machine



C. OSTERMEIER SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE Sep&. 16, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 21, 1968 VENTOR 87777676"? 19' awn 5):

Sept. 16, 1969 c. OSTERMEIER SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE Filed June 21. 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept 16, 1969 c. OSTERMEIER 3,467,150

SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE Filed June 21, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet United States Patent 3,467,150 SPIRAL BINDER APPLYING MACHINE Claus Ostermeier, Waterford, Mich., assignor to Hans Sickinger C0., Pontiac, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed June 21, 1968, Ser. No. 739,103 Int. Cl. B21f 21/00 US. Cl. 14092.94 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spiral binder applying machine having a wire coiling tool which feeds spiral wire to a pack of sheets held between a pair of identically formed pack supporting and spiral guiding elements. One of these elements is stationary and the other swingable between retracted and pack gripping positions. Each element has serrations, operable when the element is fixed, and .a charnfer, operable when used as the swingable element, to guide the spiral.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The invention relates to spiral binder applying machines of the type having coiling tools which feed spiral wire to a pack of sheets held between gripping members, the sheets being supported so that the spiral may be fed to the holes in the sheet. Such a machine is exemplified in Patent No. 3,378,046, issued Apr. 16, 1968, to the present applicant and entitled Spiral Binder Applying Machine.

Description of the prior art In the machine shown in the aforesaid patent, forward and rear guide support members are provided, the rear member being fixed and the forward one swingable between retracted and pack clamping positions. Both members carry drive rollers within them and are slotted to guide the spiral wire, the latter also engaging the rollers which help advance the spiral. The two guide roller supports in the aforesaid patent are constructed differently from each other and are not interchangeable, the slots of the rear support having upper flared ends to receive the leading end of the spiral wire. Means are provided in this prior construction for rotatably driving the guide rollers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, the forward and rear guide roller supports in the above described prior machine, as well as the guide rollers themselves, are replaced by two identically constructed and interchangeable pack clamping and spiral guiding members, the rear member being fixed and the forward one movable. Each member is of basically rectangular cross-sectional shape and has an upper forward edge with angular serrations and an upper rear edge with a chamfer. When used as a fixed rear member, the serrations are operative to guide the spiral and when used as a forward or swinging member the chamfer is operative for the same purpose. Mounting holes are provided in the member for securing it either in its rear or forward positions, and means are also provided for mounting the pack supporting hook received by the holes for the spiral binder, aswell as an alternatively usable hook in cases where the packs have ring book holes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a front elevational perspective view showing a spiral binder applying machine with the pack supporting and spiral guiding members of this invention mounted thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan View of one of the members, parts being broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of the member, parts being broken away;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the member taken from the right hand side of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view in elevation taken along the lines 5-5 of FIGURE 2 and showing the pack supporting hook recess;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view in elevation taken along the line 6-6 of FIGURE 2 and showing the spiral guide slots, spiral guide chamfer, and clearance recesses for the pneumatically operated hook to be received by ring book holes of a pack of sheets;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view in elevation showing the members being used in a machine, supporting a pack of sheets and in which a spiral binder is being guided thereby;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view in elevation showing the manner in which the pack supporting hook is secured to the spiral guiding member, and

FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view in elevation similar to FIGURE 7 but showing a pneumatically operated hook mounted on one of the spiral guiding members and receivable by ring book holes of a pack.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The spiral wire binder applying machine is generally indicated at 11 and comprises a frame generally indicated at 12 adapted to rest on the floor. This frame has left hand and right hand upright side plates 13 and 14 respectively, between which are disposed the main machine components. The side plates are secured together by appropriate cross members such as the upper member 15 indicated in FIGURE 1. A wire guide tube 16 is secured to the upper portion of frame 11 adjacent the left hand end thereof, this tube being horizontally disposed and adapted to guide the wire 17 as fed from the spool (not shown) at the rear of the machine. A pulley 18 is secured to plate 13 forwardly of tube 16 and aligned therewith. From pulley 18 the wire is led downwardly toward a wire coiling tool 19.

Coiling tool 19 is of conventional construction and need not be described in detail. A number of interchangeable coiling tools are provided for different spiral diameters, and the coiling tool is removably mounted on a coiling tool body 21 by a knurled nut 22. The coiling tool has a mandrel surrounded by a slotted member, the wire entering the slotted member at the left hand end thereof and being coiled by the mandrel, exiting at the right hand end of the tool in the form of a spiral wire which, as it turns, will pass successively through a series of holes in a pack of sheets and covers 23 (FIGURES 7 and 8) or 23a (FIGURE 9) held in alignment therewith.

The means for clamping pack 23 or 23a in position and guiding the spiral binder includes a forward pack holding and spiral guiding member 24, and a rear pack holding and spiral guiding member 25. These two members are of identical construction and are interchangeable with each other. They are of elongated shape and have generally rectangular cross sections. Rear member 25 is mount ed on a platform 26 (FIGURE 7) which extends between the left hand and right hand side plates 13 and 14 (FIG- URE 1). The left hand end of member 25 is adjacent the exit of coiling tool 19 and the right hand end is adjacent plate 14.

Forward member 24 is mounted for swinging movement by a rockable shaft 27 disposed above and parallel to coiling tool 19, and extending between side plates 13 and 14 (FIGURE 1). A sleeve 28 is fixed mounted on shaft 27 and carries a pair of arms 29 and 31 at opposite ends thereof, member 24 being secured to the outer ends of these arms. Member 24 is swingable between a retracted position shown in FIGURE 1 and a clamping position shown in FIGURES 7, 8 and 9. In its retracted position member 24 is spaced forwardly from member 25, giving suflicient space for an operator to place a perforated edge of a pack 23 and 23a against the forward face of member 25. When in clamping position, member 24 will engage pack 23 or 23a, clamping it against member 25. A sleeve 32 is also secured to shaft 27 and carries an arm 33 (FIGURE 7) at the lower end of which is a shoe 34. This shoe is disposed over the exit end of tool 19 and will, when in its operative position, prevent undue upward movement of the spiral wire binder as it leaves the coiling tool.

The construction of members 24 and 25 is shown in FIGURES 2 to 6. Each member has relatively wide flat upper and lower surfaces 36 and 37 respectively, and relatively narrow fiat forward and rearward surfaces 38 and 39 respectively. When a member is used in its fixed position (member 25), surface 38 engages pack 23 or 23a, and when the member is used in its movable position (member 24) surface 39 acts as the clamping surface. The member is also provided with a pair of threaded apertures 41 and 42 used to secure it to platform 26 when used as a fixed member 25, and a pair of apertures 43 and 44 for securing it to bars 29 and 31 when used as a forward member 24. A plurality of additional threaded apertures 45 are provided for mounting accessories such as a sensor (not shown) for the end of coil 35 or for locating stops (also not shown).

The spiral wire 35 is rotated clockwise in FIGURE 7 when it is being fed through the holes 46 of pack 23 or 23a. Means are provided at the upper portion of surface 38 for guiding the spiral wire as it passes downwardly and to the left in FIGURE 7, and on surface 39 for guiding the wire as it moves upwardly and to the left as it leaves holes 46. The means for guiding the spiral downwardly and to the left comprises a series of serrations 47 of U-shaped cross-sectional shape which are inclined downwardly and to the left as seen in FIGURE 6 and forwardly and to the right as seen in FIGURE 2 at same angle of inclination as the spiral. The depth of these slots is such that the spiral 35 will pass from them into holes 46, as seen in FIGURE 7.

The means for guiding the spiral after it leaves the holes comprises a chamfer 48 at the upper portion of surface 39, as seen in FIGURE 4. This chamfer has a flat inclined surface, the inclination being such that the spiral wire leaving holes 46 will be guided upwardly and to the left as seen in FIGURE 7. A clearance recess 49 is formed at the left hand end of chamfer 48 as seen in FIGURE 2, to avoid interference with the beginning of the coil as it leaves coiling tool 19.

Means are provided for mounting the hook 51, seen in FIGURE 8, on the fixed member 25 so that pack 23 may be supported thereby. As explained in the aforementioned patent, the left hand end of a pack 23 or 23a is mounted on this hook and then the pack is held in position for clamping between members 24 and 25. The means for mounting hook 51 comprises an inclined recess 52 at the left hand end of the member contiguous with the forward surface 38. Recess 52 is inclined at the same angle as serrations 47 so that the hook will also be inclined in order to pitch holes 46 properly for the reception of the spiral binder. This recess will receive the mounting portion of hook 51 as seen in FIGURE 7 so that the hook can project therefrom. A tapped aperture 53 adjacent this recess receives a bolt 54 for securing the hook in position.

The lower portion of member 24 or 25 is also provided with recesses for accommodating a pneumatically operated guide hook 55 which is usable to support a pack 23a provided with holes 56 for a ring binder. Such packs of sheets 23a are mountable on hook 55 instead of hook 51. Hook 55 is operated by a pneumatic cylinder and piston 57 to which it is connected by a bell crank 58 pivoted at 59 to a stationary part of the machine. This mechanism is described more particularly in copending application Ser. No. 662,013, filed Aug. 21, 1967, by Hans A. Sickinger, entitled Holding and Releasing Mechanism for Spiral Binder Applying Machines," and assigned to the assignee of the present application.

An inclined recess 61 is provided in the lower left hand portion of member 24 or 25, and a rectangular recess 62 is provided in the lower right hand portion of this member, as seen in FIGURES 6, 7 and 9. Hook 55 is swingable between an upper holding position as seen in solid lines in FIGURE 9 and a lower releasing position as seen in dot-dash lines in this figure. When in its upper position, hook 55 will enter recess 61 of member 25. When member 24 is swung into its clamping position as seen in FIGURE 9, the tip of hook 55 will enter clearance recess 62 of member 24.

In operation, member 24 will initially be in its retracted position as seen in FIGURE 1. Pack 23 or 23av will be mounted on its hook 51 or 55 respectively, and held in position by the operator while member 24 is swung counterclockwise in FIGURE 7 or 9 to its clamping position. The holes 56 of the pack will be properly arranged in curved and pitched relation by virtue of its being supported by the curved and pitched hook 51 or 55, ready for the reception of the spiral wire.

As the spiral wire is fed from tool 19, its forward end will first engage serrations 47 of member 25, then will pass through the holes 46 and engage chamfer 48 on member 24. This engagement will guide spiral 35 as it enters successive holes 46 of the pack.

It will thus be seen that the invention obviates the necessity of manufacturing two different members for clamping the stack and guiding the spiral wire. Furthermore, the invention eliminates the need for rollers and fully extending guide slots as shown in the aforementioned Patent No. 3,378,046. Furthermore, the two members 24 and 25 are interchangeable with similar sets, which can be made with various pitches and depths of serrations 47 so as to accommodate different diameters and pitches of spiral wire binders.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a spiral binder applying machine of the type having a coiling tool and means for mounting a pack of sheets with their holes arranged to receive a spiral wire as it issues from said tool, a pair of identical pack clamping and spiral wire guiding members, each member being elongated and having a generally rectangular cross-sectional shape, forward and rear clamping surfaces on opposite sides of said member whereby a pack of sheets will be clamped between the forward surface of one member and the rear surface of a second member, a plurality of inclined serrations having the same pitch as the spiral wire along the upper edge of one of said clamping surfaces, a chamfer along the upper edge of the other clamping surface, said serrations and chamfer being inclined so as to guide a spiral wire passing through the holes in said pack of sheets, and between securable to one of said members for supporting the pack of sheets with its holes properly aligned for the receipt of said spiral binder.

2. The combination according to claim 1, said lastmentioned means comprising a hook, and a recess on the upper surface of each of said members whereby the hook may be secured to one of them.

3. The combination according to claim 1, said lastmentioned means comprising a rockable hook mounted adjacent said members, and clearance recesses on the undersides of said members for said hook.

4. The combination according to claim 1, one of said members being fixed and the other rockable between retracted and pack clamping positions, the operative pack clamping surface of said fixed member being the forward surface thereof, the operative pack clamping surface of the movable member being the rear surface thereof, said References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,251,385 5/1966 Freundlich 14092.3 3,378,046 4/ 1968 Ostermeier 14092.93

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner E. M. COMBS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 140-923 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 5,467,l50 September 16, 1969 Claus Ostermeier It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as show below:

Column 3, line 12, "fixed" should read fixedly Column 5, line 4, "between" should read means Signed and sealed this 6th day of January 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Edward M. Fletcher, Ir.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

